The Mouse Girl
by NightoftheLivingShadows
Summary: Shai Avel lives in the wilderness with her family of rats. But what happens she her world is set ablaze and she's thrown into a world she can't understand? Can Yuki and the others help her convert into a human, or will she run away to be with her lost kin? Summery may suck. No parings as of yet.
1. Shai meets Yuki

**Oooh! Look! A new story. I should get back to the other one, but frankly I've writers block on it. I can't figure out what to have happen next. For now, a new story! I dunno if it should be chapters or a one shot. What do you all think? Please let me know what you think! Enjoy~!**

**Disclaimer: I own not Fruits Basket or any of it's characters saddly. If I did then I'd make Yuki and Kyou a couple! Just because I love yaoi! Or I'd put Shai into it and make Kyou hers. Story and my characters mine!**

**Update! I noticed a few mistakes and decided to update before continuing. Sorry for the wait! More will come, it's just a matter of when. Although it does make it interesting, never knowing when a new chapter will come and when it does, it's a pleasant surprise. Sorry, anyways. I have no Beta, so sorry for the mistakes.**

She's never had a real family. Well, not unless you count all the rats and mice that scurry to her side no matter what she's feeling in the moment. When she was old enough, she was able to make her own little lean-to. The rats and mice always came to it, and often stayed weeks on end with her. So perhaps all the rats and mice are her family.

As she was growing up, the rats taught her how to survive, and the mice taught her their tongue. So really, she wasn't human, but she definitely was not a mouse. She didn't know what she was, only that the rats and mice are her family, Don and Rea Avel her parents. Don and Rea were the first to find and care for her, and named her Shai Avel.

She's sixteen now, and not once has she spotted another human. Living deep in a forest might have something to do with that, but she cared naught. All she needed was her family and friends. They are what makes her happy.

On her birthday, October 31 as Rea had once told her, she and the rodents had a party with her. A cake made of cheese and much dancing. So how was she supposed to react when a fire claims the forest, her home? Panicking is her first reaction, but she desperately pushes that down and looks for her friends and family, screaming their names loud as she can.

As the forest came down around her with crackling of flames, thuds of trees falling over, and cracks of limbs and branches falling off the trees, a realization hit her. _Where did this fire come from? And why does it claim my home and kin? _Her eyes widen the second she spots Dan and Rea, side by side, crushed by a tree, and the thought leaves her entirely. She couldn't understand. _Why won't they move? Why won't they come to her? Why do they just stay there? _She didn't want to accept it, but her brain kept telling her over and over_ They're dead._ She couldn't stand it, and slumped down to the ground, her bright chocolate-brown eyes wide with terror, shock, fear, and sadness. She couldn't take her eyes off of them.

After what felt like days but really was only a few seconds, she screamed, a very primal and animal like scream that no human vocal chords should be able to produce, and pounced, having new-found strength that was no doubt due to the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was able to shove the tree off them this way and growled, daring the trees and flames to try to cover them once more. As if they understood, or feared her, no tree fell on them, nor did the fire claim them.

Ignoring the splinters that no doubt are embedded in her palms and the fire licking away at her exposed skin; she wore coverings made out of leaves; she scoops up their bodies, sobbing, for once glad that her body was the way it is. Shai begged and pleaded for Don and Rea to awaken, to open their eyes and laugh as they always used to do, to say that it was just a cruel joke. But after cradling them to her chest for what felt like ages, she stood and screamed, again having a primal, animalistic sound, but the difference is that it had a sad tone, instead of rage. Placing Don and Rea in her pouch; the one that sits on her side so that she may carry food for herself or for her family and friends; she started to run.

No matter where Shai went, she saw the dead bodies of her kin. Tears poured down her cheeks and she stopped to retrieve the bodies of those she was closest to before continuing on. She didn't, or wouldn't, acknowledge the fire licking at her skin, burning her and no doubt causing burns that wouldn't heal for a while. All she cared for now was saving those she loved most and crying for the ones she didn't stop to carry. Though she would love to pick up all of her kin and carry them to safety, she knew she didn't have the ability, for her pouch was only so big and her arms only carried so much.

After a while of running blindly she comes across a river and immediately jumps in, knowing instinctively that water will help her burns and give her time to rest. She never lost her grip on those she carried, and she had made sure the latch on her pouch was tight. To her luck, the river was only waist-high and the current wasn't that strong. It is here that she breathes a sigh of relief, glad at the brief rest and the water cooling her burns. Slowly, she made her way to the other side, since she knew the fire couldn't cross the river, and gently set her kin on the ground, then she flopped on top them and rested a little, keeping them safe and never loosing consciousness lest a predator come to eat her and her kin while she slept.

Softly, she heard the footfalls of something she'd never heard before. Those footfalls happened to belong to a human, and said human was coming to see the disaster that lay on the other side of the river. When she turned her gaze up, she growled. She won't let this, whatever this two-legged thing is, take her kin. Her growl deepened and got more ferocious the closer the two-legged thing got, and swiped at its paw when it tried to touch her. The creature only chuckled and pat her head. Stunned, she forgot to growl when the creature picked up one of her kin, her closest friend Dima. With a snarl, she grabbed Dima from his hands and hissed. _"My friend! Don't touch!"_ The creature raised its paws and spoke in a tongue she vaguely identified as human. Don and Rea; mainly Rea; taught her very little, but just enough that she was able to guess at what it said. _"Not harm? Be my friend? Name Yuki?"_ She only caught a few words, but could piece together the creature said. Her eyes narrowed, then widened at it, or rather Yuki, as it said it's name was, spoke in the tongue of her kin.

_"I do not wish to harm you. Please do not attack me again, I only wish to be your friend. My name is Yuki Sohma. Will you allow me to see them?"_ Yuki spoke. She managed a small nod, trusting it since it knew her tongue, and Yuki took Dima from her gently and softly held her. It's face fell into one of sorrow as it handed Dima back to her, and picked the others up one by one, the sorrow only growing. When she took Don and Rea from her pouch and cradled them close, she looked at Yuki.

_"All dead...parents too. Help me bury them?" _She asked, looking up, and Yuki nodded it's agreement. Together they dug deep holes and placed her kin inside them, not without many tears on Shai's part. After filling the holes back in, she felt slight happiness that no wild beast or creature would dig them up and eat them. But she still felt sad that they were gone. She still had so much to learn! How can she when they're gone! Sitting at the foot of Don and Rea's graves, she grieved, tears falling fast and thick. She couldn't stop. Her only family and friends were all dead, lots burned to a crisp and her closest ones buried here in front of her. It's too much to take, and finally she falls unconscious, only vaguely noticing Yuki catch her before her head could slam into the ground.

When she awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was covered. She didn't know why. She's never had any covering, so why now? Her eyes flutter open and the only thing she sees is a cover, much better done than the one in her lean-to. Eyes widen as realization hits. _Don! Rea! Everyone!_ Tears prick her eyes as she sits up and stares at her lap, pain lacing her every move but she didn't really notice it yet. Her eyes blink rapidly as she realizes that something was clothed on her. She stood up and frowned a bit when they didn't fall off. She didn't like it, it felt too constricting. Swiftly, she started attempting to pull the cloths off, but a voice stopped her.

_"Please do not do that. It's a bit uncomfortable to look at you when you are near naked."_ With a start, she spins around, the cloth on her torso half undone, since she's never had any experience with clothes. _"Do not freak out, alright, it's all okay. You're in my house, and I promise I will not hurt you."_ She nods, trusting Yuki fully, since it spoke her tongue.

_"Why am I in your house? Why did you not leave my with my kin? And what are these things that cover my body?"_ At the last question, she plucks at the top cloth. It chuckles and comes to stand in front of her. As it redoes the covering, Yuki replies, answering each of her questions.  
_"You are in my home because I could not leave you alone in the wilderness in good conscience. Another reason is because my family is cursed. Our curse is that thirteen members of the Sohma family, three girls and ten males, are possessed by the vengeful spirits of the Zodiac. I am the Rat, and turn into one when a girl hugs me. And for some reason unknown to us, when I caught you at your kin's graves, I did not transform." _Her eyes widened and she slid to the floor, Yuki moving to sit next to her as he continued answering her questions. "_I didn't leave you with your kin because I could not leave a young girl alone in the wild where she could be killed. There are many dangers out there that I could not, in good conscience, let you face them." _At that she scoffed. He obviously did not know that she was capable of protecting herself. _"As for your last question, they are called clothes. And it is a bit rude not to wear clothes in the presence of other people. It makes us quite uncomfortable. I, for one, cannot look at you while you are unclothed since it is very uncomfortable, me being a boy and you a girl."_

People? That must be what it is! And it called himself a boy, and since boy and male are the same, it must be a he. And she's a girl? Her head tilts some and she nods, understanding, and does not try to remove the clothes again so as to not make it-him- uncomfortable. He stands and she looks up at him. _"Come, I wish you to meet my family." _And with that, he takes her hand, pulls her to her feet. He leads her down a long tunnel and down some stairs, then to a room that has more People inside.

It's then that she realizes that her burns are covered with itchy material. She reaches to scratch her arm, only to stop when she sees the white material covering it, only then realizing that she'd gotten splinters when she'd moved the tree off her parents, and the pain flared, causing only a grimace.

Yuki then speaks in the Human tongue, bringing her back to reality and she looks around. She manages to catch a few words, but she doesn't focus on them, only the smells of the others. She only now realizes that there are different scents in the air. That of a cat, a dog, a rabbit, and a snake. But the brown haired Human had a different scent, not an animal. _This must be a human's scent! Oh mother, father, I've finally met a human! I know their scent now! Please come back so I can tell you about it! _But of course they won't come back, how could she be so baka. She then blinks when she senses the dog scent draw nearer, and refocuses. The tall black haired Human was coming towards her and got right in her face. She withdrew behind Yuki, lips pulled back in a snarl.

_"Stay away!"_ But the dog scented Human; or was it male? Since all but brown haired human had a flat chest, like Yuki. And if she's a girl, then her rounded chest would mark her as one and the brown haired human too!; just looked behind Yuki at her and spoke words she didn't understand. Yuki promptly pushed him back with a few curt words she didn't understand, giving her some space, and looked at her, speaking a bit slower that he had earlier so she could understand the difficult language.

"I'm sorry for Shigure's actions. He likes to make others uncomfortable" He waited patiently for her to figure out what he said, knowing she didn't know Human tongue well. When she worked it out, she nodded and looked at the dog scented human now named Shigure, and attempted to speak the human tongue as well, but it was very incomprehensible and had to tell Yuki what she'd wanted to say when she gave up. He nods and relays her message for her. "She would like to apologize for her reaction, and apologizes for being unable to tell you herself. She does not know any but the language of rats." A scoff is heard and her head snaps to the cat scented human. "What is it baka neko?" All she under stood was 'neko' Cat. Well, that's all she caught, and Yuki and "Baka Neko" got into a heated verbal fight, quickly becoming a physical fight, which ending with the cat kicked through a doorway. She gave a small smile, crouched against the wall watching their fight, having decided she'd had enough standing and wished to observe in a more comfortable position. She might enjoy her stay here. The fight certainly amused her. And their actions spoke of this not being the first time, but one out of several times.

Yuki walks back to her side and crouches down with a very small smile and words of apology for the fight. And she just smiles back slightly to him, a bit uncomfortable since she still resided in an unknown place with unknown persons.

**I hope you liked! If any were to OOC, let me know.**


	2. Secret Discovered

**Yay! Chapter two! Hope you all enjoy! **

**Thank you to Princess Hephzi of Arendale and Guest for reviewing! The second I saw them I got right to work on Chapter two. **

**Enjoy! **

**I do not own Fruits Basket nor any of it's characters. Shai Avel and the storyline is mine though.**

**PS, Just in case some of you see this story on DeviantArt. I posted it there so it is not a stolen story.**

**Update: I updated and added a few things! Hope it makes more sense, It does to me.**

It has been a few days since Shai has come to live with Yuki and the others. During that time she's come to learn so much that she'd have never learned with her kin. Like the fact that she is a Human too, the human tongue; or some of it; and how to properly dress herself with help from that girl human, the one Yuki called "Tohru".

While she'd been learning, Yuki had left her in the care of Tohru. She did not mind, for if he trusted this girl, then she will too. Tohru taught her much, how to cook, how to clean, even how to do laundry, as she called it. It was all so new! And she is excited to learn more.

Of course, not all is well. Her heart still bears the scar of loosing her kin. It's a scar that runs deep and one that she feels can never be healed. The burns all over her body from the fire still linger, causing her to have patches of darker skin littered across her body.

Today, Shigure told her, being mindful that she still has a hard time with human tongue, that she's going to school. She has no clue what it is and promptly goes to find Yuki to tell her. He's not in the house, so she follows his scent out the, once again, destroyed door. Sniffing the air, she walks and walks until his scent leads her to a small garden, him kneeling at one side of it. She's never seen this place, and it looks well cared for.

"Hello Miss. Avel, care to help me?" Yuki asks, waiting patiently for her to work out what he said. It takes a moment, but she figures it out and nods, attempting to speak human tongue as well.

"Ye-ee-es...I wo-would like too.." He chuckles at her attempt and she frowns, switching to her native tongue. _"It is a hard language you expect me to learn! I hope you do not expect me to learn it by tomorrow!"_ He chuckles again, and her frown turns to a pout.

_"No no Miss. Avel, you misunderstand. It is just amusing to hear you speak human tongue."_ He smiles a bit, and she stops pouting, instead huffing. _"Now, would you like to explain? Why tomorrow?"_ His head is tilted slightly as he looks at her and she shrugs.

_"Shigure told me that I'm going to this 'school' tomorrow. I don't know what it is but he made it sound important."_ She kneels down next to his garden and strokes the leaves of the carrots.

"He's what? But you cannot, you do not yet know how to speak, let alone act like a human around people!" She scowled, recognizing his tone as anger, and knowing a couple of the words he spoke, so was able to understand what he was saying.

"I...know..." She silently praised herself. She didn't mess up the words this time! And they were coherent! Yuki sighs and drops his head so his bangs hid his face. He did not seem happy in the least. Perhaps she should leave him be. Nodding to herself, she stands up and turns away from him. She had almost walked out of the clearing when Yuki stopped her.

"Miss. Avel, please. Why don't you come help?" She turns towards him, smiling a little bit and nodding when she understood his words.

After a little while of helping Yuki in his garden, or more so watching and learning how to while he did all the work, she gets up and stretches, then turns and leaves him alone to tend to his garden. She walks on in silence, listening to all the sounds of the forest and noting all the scents in the air. It's enough that she can pretend everything is the way it was before. Before her birthday, before the fire, before she left her life and started anew.

Her breath hitches as the memories come to the surface. Fast and unrelenting. Memories of her kin, their bodies burned, crushed, trampled by other creatures. All hitting her at once and causing her to cry, sobs escaping and wracking her body, so much so that she has to sit or she'll topple face-first into the ground. But she topples over anyways, and curls up on the ground, hands clenched and held to her chest, tears falling, chocked sobs escaping, and incoherent sentences coming from her mouth. It's always when she's alone that she lets this happen. One raised like her understands that you don't show weakness to any but yourself, and to always be wary in case someone stumbles upon your moment of weakness.

But right now, she couldn't care less. All she wants to do is cry until her tears are gone and she can stand again, the pain of being alone too much to handle now.

And that's what she was doing, until she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Having not been listening to the sounds around her, she's startled, and jumps up, spinning around and pulling her lips back in a snarl. Of course, the tears in her eyes blurred her vision, so she didn't recognize who was there. All she knew was someone saw her in her moment of weakness, and she must never forgive them.

"Whoa whoa! Calm down Shai!" She blinks, thrown off. That's the cat's voice. Kyo's voice. The cat saw! Then she feels his hands on her shoulders, squeezing as though to calm or comfort her. She feels herself relax a bit and lets her lips fall back to her normal small pout. Swiftly, she brings a hand to her face and wipes her tears away, wiping away the evidence. "Hey, why were ya crying?" She hears him ask, and she figures out what he said quickly, understanding a couple words. She shakes her head hard and glares at him, staring right into his red eyes. He simply blinks, glaring right back into her brown eyes. This throws her, she's not met any who met her glare with no fear whatsoever. Although this is the cat who loves to glare with Yuki, so she really shouldn't be surprised about that. What does surprise her though, is that he cares enough to actually want to help, though she knows from how little time she's spent with them that comforting others is a foreign thought to him.

She drops her glare, and looks at the ground. _"It is not your concern. Leave me be." _Of course, she forgot that he doesn't understand rat tongue, and blinks in realization at his confused stare, and sighs. She'd forgotten that her kin wasn't the ones listening. She feels the tears fill her eyes and clenches them shut, and, for the moment, let's Kyo see since she didn't have the energy to pull away from him and run to seclusion. She falls into his chest and cry's. She can feel him stiffen, most likely with surprise. Then, slowly his hand pats her back, as though to tell her 'enough already, get off me now' but she doesn't, she stay's clenched onto his shirt. When he realizes that she won't go, his arms wrap around her back and holds her there, sighing some. She feels comforted, knowing that he won't force her to let him go, and also most likely because he didn't transform into his Zodiac animal.

For a little while, they stand there. Kyo holding Shai, and Shai clenching his shirt tight. But when her tears cease falling, she pulls away and dry's her eyes and, keeping her gaze on the ground, she mumbles a thanks to him in human tongue.

"Yeah yeah, it's no big deal. Just get back to being your normal self alright." It was more of a statement than a question, but she nods either way, and smiles a little bit. Not all cat's are bad, just look at Kyo! He didn't force her to get off him when she broke down, instead he comforted her, one raised by rats and is one at heart. She'd always been taught that cats of all sorts are their enemy, but Kyo's not, and it comforts her to know that.

"Kyo, follow me." She uses short sentences that go right to the point with simple and easy words, annoying as hell to others, but easier for her to learn. Yuki doesn't mind how she learns, just that she is learning, but the cat is thoroughly annoyed by it and it shows on his face. He tries not to get mad at her, and simply nods stiffly. She grabs his hand and turns on her heel, then walks briskly through the forest, not noticing the slight red tinge that is on the males cheeks. It takes a while, but she finds the spot she's looking for. The spot where she first met Yuki. Dropping his hand, her face turns sullen and she walks to the graves that are still there, mostly because she comes her constantly to make sure her kin stay safe, sometimes even sleeping overnight there. But today, she's brought Kyo to see them. "These family and friends. Their graves." She states, not turning to look at him, instead sitting at Don and Rea's graves and staring at them. Her short sentences are annoying, but in the somber moment, can't bring himself to be mad.

She vaguely senses Kyo walk over at a slow pace, or sit beside her. It's still a touchy subject, talking about her kin, and she knows that he knows, having been witness to her tantrum when Shigure asked about her parents.

~Flashback~

"So Shai," _Shigure starts. _"Where are you're parents? Do they know where you are?" _He obviously did not realize how touchy this subject is for her, for his smiling face turns to one of surprise and shock when she shot to her feet, her face twisted with anger. Kyo, sitting next to her, twitches and leans away, surprised at the anger radiating off her._

"HOW DARE YOU! DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY YOU DOG! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM!"_ Everyone in the room flinches at her screaming, and Shigure's eyes are wide. His mouth opens as though to speak, but no words come, surprised that this quiet girl could yell so loud. She snarls, then stamps her foot and turns, leaving the room and the house. Kyo silently gets up and follows her, the first to recover from the shock of her anger. _

_She storms into the forest and strikes out a punch at some trees she passes occasionally. Kyo can tell she's pissed, but also that that anger is actually her way of hiding her pain and sadness. He should know, that's his way of expressing his pain and sadness too, though he'll never admit it. Eventually, she stops, and the anger dissipates leaving a sad, depressed girl behind. Though he doesn't approach her, but leaves her to be alone, knowing that she needed that right now._

~End Flashback~ ~P.O.V. Kyo Sohma~

He knows better than to say anything about her family, but feels slight happiness that this reserved girl, who let on nothing of her past to anyone but that Kuso Nezumi, let him in on this secret that meant so much to her. He looks over at Shai, watching her as she stares sadly down at the graves of the rats she called her family. He didn't quite understand how a human girl could call a bunch of rats 'family'. Of course, considering how much he hates that Kuso Nezumi, it's no wonder it's hard for him to accept.

The real confusing thing, is how she can be exempt from the family curse, how her hugs don't transform them. She certainly looks like a regular human girl. Maybe it has to do with the fact that, being raised by the rats, she believes she is one and not a human. Which probably means that hugging human girl's that believe themselves to be human are the only ones that can transform them? Oh great, he can't understand a thing he just thought. He'll just forget about it and accept things for what they are.

"Why do you stare?" He blinks, startled from his thoughts, to see Shai staring at him, curiosity in her gaze. A slight red tinge taints his cheeks and he frowns, looking away with a huff, a bit embarrassed at being caught staring, even if he didn't know he was.

"I'm not staring!" He glares at the ground in anger. "I was just thinkin' alright." He hears her sigh and returns his gaze to her. "Don't think anything of it." He stands and turns. "Be back by dinner, I don't want to listen to Tohru complain about you being missing, got it?" Although he meant that he would be concerned, not knowing how great a fighter she could be, but God knows he'd _never _let anyone know that. When she nods, he walks away, still thinking. But after only a few minutes, long enough for him to be out of hearing and sight of Shai, he hears Kuso Nezumi's annoying voice.

"Baka Neko. What were you doing with Miss Avel?" He stops walking and turns to face Yuki, who's about a foot away from him. He shrugs and frowns, not wanting to argue right now.

"She just showed me the graves of that family of hers. Why do you want to know Kuso Nezumi? Are ya trying to find a reason to fight me? Don't bother, I'll fight you without a reason! And I'll beat you this time!" He puts his fists up and back up into a fighting stance, just to see Yuki sigh and frown with annoyance. He knew that Nezumi didn't want a fight, but he just didn't want to let on that he was actually concerned about anyone.

"Baka Neko. I'm not here for a fight. I'm here to make sure you are not bothering Miss Avel." He blinks in surprise. Yuki...won't fight him? But every time he wanted a fight, Yuki fought him. What's so different this time? There's no was that Kuso Nezumi is going soft! Damn that Yuki! "Kyo. I can see your anger. Just calm down, all I wished to do was talk." He blinks, then stands up straight again, arms falling to his sides, hands un-fisted. It's a super rare occasion that these two just talk without fighting, so if the Nezumi just wants to talk, then in must be super important.

"Then talk."


	3. Kidnapping, I think

**Hey, sorry for the absence but my computer was being mean to me and died. I've only just managed to get it to turn back on and I promptly came here to update. So here you go, enjoy~!**

**Update: Sorry for taking so long! I'll get the newest chapter up soon, I swear!**

* * *

~~P.O.V. Kyo Sohma~~  
Kyo lies on the roof not an hour after his talk with Yuki, thinking over all they'd talked about. He was completely baffled at how civil they'd been with each other. He just couldn't get over the fact that they'd talked about something other than fighting or beating each other up. But it felt nice, not to just fight the Keso Nezumi for once. He actually learned that the Nezumi had something hidden in his eyes, some secret he was hiding. It was something he'd never had noticed had they been fighting.

But that's not all that bugged him. What also bugged him was the fact that Nezumi seemed to be protective over the rat girl. All throughout their chat, whenever Nezumi talked of her, he heard the protective tone in his voice. Ah, it must be because that girl was raised like a rat and can talk to him in that rat talk. He wasn't fond of it, and he knew that it was starting to Piss. Him. off.

~~P.O.V. Shai Avel~~

It's been a few hours since she'd last seen the cat, and she still sat at the graves of her kin. She still couldn't figure out why he'd stared at her. Why? It's true she will consider him her friend, but she wouldn't stare at him like he had to her. She's still unsure why she'd let the cat come see her kin's resting place, but she knew that she felt better, knowing that someone besides Yuki-san knew about them.

Standing, she bows her head to the graves and turns to go. She should just forget about it. It's probably another human custom she has yet to learn about.

She stops. Not any where's close to 'home' but not exactly near the graves of her kin either. She swore that she saw something moving in the shadows. But looking now, nothing was there. She strained her ears to listen for the slightest sound, one that was not common of the forest. Eyes focused straight ahead, she watches in her peripheral vision for movement, knowing that whatever was there wouldn't move knowing she was looking around, or at, them.

After around an hour of standing there like that, she shakes her head, thinking it really was her imagination , and continues the trek 'home'. Only to have a cloth shoved against her face and an arm wrapped tight around her chest, restricting arm movement. In seconds, she remembered her legs and swung., detaching her would be kidnapper, only to stumble and fall to her knees. She didn't understand, why did she feel so weak? What was causing this? Why? She cast her thoughts back, trying to figure it out as she fell onto her side and conciseness was leaving her. She couldn't think straight, could barely think of her name before she passed out.

~~P.O.V. Third person~~

"Damn girl, nearly broke my leg!" The kidnapper, a male as it so happens, curses, rubbing his knee where Shai's foot had connected. his head turns to the girl and he sighs. "'Least she's out cold now." He says with relief as another person, this one female, comes out into the open.

"Good, the boss'll like her." The woman grins, going right to Shai's side and grabbing her chin, turning her head so she could look at Shai's face. "Yes, a pretty face means a pretty body underneath all those baggy clothes." With a chuckle, she let's go of her face and stands straight. "Antony, bring her to the car. Boss'll want her quick, and perhaps he'll hold her for ransom?" The woman shrugs as the man, named Antony, stands up and tests his knee. he nods with satisfaction and turns to Shai, picking her up as easily as a piece of paper and tosses her onto his shoulder. With the woman ahead of him, they go to the van parked out of sight and he tosses her into the back, climbing in and tying her up so escape would be futile. At his signal, she started the van and drove off, Antony climbing into the passenger seat and acting like a kidnapping hadn't just occurred.

~~P.O.V. Yuki Sohma~~

It's been a while, where could Miss. Avel be? She never missed a meal, but if she doesn't return now then she will. He looks around the table, listening to the squeaks of the rats all around, none talked of her. With a small, barely audible sigh, he looks down at the table, only to look at the door. One of the rat's had just mentioned a girl near the graves of their kin. He swiftly stands. "Miss Honda. I'm afraid I'm not hungry tonight." Tohru looks up at him and smiles, and he smiles back to her his small smile, then turns and walks away, not wanting to worry the others by running off. once he had walked a good distance away, he runs quick as he can to the graves of Shai's kin.

It took him over an hour before he got there, having to stop a couple of times to catch his breath so his asthma wouldn't act up. Once he'd reached the grave site, he called for the rat that had talked about Shai, kneeling so it would be easier for him to talk and catch his breath fully.

_"Tell me about the girl who was here."_ He ordered, not really in the mood to be polite. he was really worried and wanted to be sure Miss. Avel was fine. As ordered the rat told him about what he saw, explaining that he'd followed the girl and saw the kidnapping, how he also didn't think to much of it and went on his way. Yuki's aura went dark when he heard that she'd been kidnapped. "Bastards, they'll pay for this." He muttered with dark promise, standing up. All the rats that were near him scurried away in fear. Yuki looks around, and spots a wolf nearby. The wolf was cowering slightly at his dark aura, and Yuki took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He remembers, 'those whose minds are clouded will fail in their quests' and does not wish to fail. He cannot afford to, Miss. Avel is in need of him. He opens his eyes, his aura no longer dark and menacing...for now. He turns to the wolf, who by now was able to catch Yuki's scent and was sitting, waiting for him to be calm again. Yuki approaches it.

"Go to Shigure and tell him that Miss. Avel was kidnapped, and that I am going after her." Nodding like it understood him, which in fact it did, the wolf turns and lopes off to the house to tell Shigure. He deduces that Shigure will tell the others and Tohru will start fretting, Kyo would growl and stomp after him. Shigure will stay in case Shai escapes and comes back, not one to get directly involved. Hatsaharu will definitely come to help him, not wanting to leave "his love" -he definitely did not like that- to face whatever dangers alone.

He chuckles, and turns to follow the trail. According to the rat that informed him, they went through the forest. Alright, that's a good starting point. With a small, unseen smile, he walks to the nearest tree and pulls down three branches, then lays them in the shape of an arrow, showing which way he'd gone.

~~P.O.V. Third Person~~

Shai wakes in a dark room, the air damp. Everything was fuzzy, and she couldn't focus on anything. Words escaped her, and hearing failed her as someone walked to her side and nudged her. That got her more alert and she struggled to roll away. Her senses sharpened and the cloudiness in her head dissipates. She looks up and growls in warning at the female who reeked of danger. The female laughs. "A feisty one you are! I wonder how long you'll struggle to fight us knowing what the Boss has in store for you~" The woman purrs, grabbing Shai's jaw roughly and pulling her up so that she'd have no choice but to stand or break her neck. "You're a very pretty young girl, and you'll be a very good bargaining chip." Shai yanks her jaws away and bites her hand, hard enough that blood rushes out. Cursing, the woman yanks her hand away and backs off, holding her hand close to her chest. "Damn bitch!" With that, she raises her other hand, knowing that young girls like her don't fight once they're struck one time.

To The woman's surprise, Shai had ducked and launched at her, ramming into her stomach and knocking the wind out of her. She didn't understand at first, then realized, this girl is a fighter, and a skilled one at that. She snarls and shoves Shai away. Shai stumbles back a few steps and falls into fighting position, the ropes knotted around her wrists keeping her hands out of the fight, but still knowing how to fight without them. Her teacher taught her well, despite being a completely different species than her.

~~Switch to Shai Avel's P.O.V.~~

She keeps her eye on the female, working at the ropes on her wrists, trying to free them. She has to get away, she can't stay, Yuki and the others will worry... she blinks. Why should she be worried what they'll think, though. She's new, and not close to them...besides Yuki. She know's they like her, but they shouldn't fret with her suddenly gone. She mentally slaps her self and returns her attention to the female, who now has a male next to her. She immediately recognizes the male as the one who took her, having only gotten a glimpse but knows it is him by his scent. Alcohol, it makes her nose scrunch up in distaste. A rumble sounds low in her throat, dangerous to all who could recognize her anger.

"Why kidnap me?!" She demands, her voice sounding very dangerous and ticked to her. She see's them flinch at her anger, then the female sneers, recovering quickly.

"The boss wanted us to. So now you're the property of the boss." As she said that a male walks into the room. He wore no shirt, though she didn't doubt that shirts might not fit him, considering his size. He was huge! And not in the fat way, but more like the muscular way. It frightened her a little, and she backs away, noting too late that she was up against the wall. Instinct was kicking in now, fight or flight, and boy is her will to fight strong.

"You are the one they brought?" The man says, looking her up and down, as thought studying her. She nods and spits at their feet.

"Yes, against my will." She glares and inconspicuously feels for a sharp object on the wall, hoping for anything. She steps lightly, keeping her gaze on the three to make them believe she was only worried for her own well being and not trying to untie her hands. She finds nothing on the wall, and nearly droops with disappointment, but does not and resumes trying to get the rope off. All the while she'd been ignoring what they said. Not hearing the fact that she is just a bargaining chip to get to the Sohmas and a toy for him to use until she's recovered and the bargain payed.

It's only when she succeeds in freeing her wrists, that the shirtless male comes at her. She snarls, baring her teeth at him in the universal 'stay back!' He stops and raises his hands, obviously humoring her. She brings her hands in front of her, ready for a fight, only to stiffen in surprise. She'd heard Yuki, and he was right outside. To close. What if this male hurts him? She had to get his attention, distract these three so she could escape! But before she could, someone charged into the room and jumped onto shirtless man, fists flying and curses being shouted. She blinks with incomprehension, then realizes that that someone is the cat. Kyo came to get her too?! She couldn't believe it, couldn't understand why they actually did care this much for her. Shouldn't they be glad that she's out of their hair? She shakes her head and focuses again, cursing herself for getting distracted, and tackles the woman. She hears yells and thumps, but doesn't think much of it, having the knowledge that Kyo is a very skilled fighter. She's worried for Yuki though, what with his asthma and this cold weather. She can't focus on that though, she has to focus on defeating this female.

Her foot connected with her leg, a crack. She knows that woman's leg is broken, unable to be used. They go down, Shai having been dragged. They roll around on the floor, fists flying and teeth bared. Shai puts hers to use, used to doing what it takes to survive. She latches onto the woman's throat. Screams fill the air. Fright, she's frightened for her life. She doesn't want to die. She snarls, nails dig into her skin, trying to get her to let go. She doesn't. Then fingers and pushing on the hinge of her jaw, forcing her mouth open and consequently making her let go of the woman's throat. She's yanked backwards, and the woman scrambles away, coughing and shaking with pure and utter fear. She sees the cat in move in front of the woman, keeping her from getting to her.

Her mind's in turmoil. Can't make coherent thoughts. Fight, _fight, __**fight, FIGHT!**_ It's all she can think, all she can feel.

Words. She can't comprehend them. Unknown. **Fight!** Being held back. Thrashing, trying to break free. Not strong enough. Never strong enough. Fear. Fear takes over. Too weak to fight, too weak to resist. Fear, _fear, __**fear, FEAR!**_ Have to get away. Thrashes, tries to kick. Unsuccessful. Yanks, trying to free her arms. No such luck. Restraint, tight hold, too strong.

"_**SHAI! CALM DOWN NOW!**_" She blinks. Yuki? Why is he yelling, he never yells. She stops thrashing, just barely calming down. _"__Shai, it's Yuki, remember? Calm down, I won't hurt you. You're safe now." _Safe? She hasn't felt like that in forever. But now that she's calming down, she realizes that it is Yuki who restrains her. Confusion washes over her senses, her gaze wandering the room, which is in shambles. Did she do that? _"__Shai, look at me." _She obeys, looking up at Yuki, who no doubt sees her confusion.

"_Yuki..? What happened?"_She's not fond of letting others know how she feels, but right now, she just doesn't care.

"You lost control and destroyed the room. You nearly killed her." He replies calmly, hoping to keep her calm. She doesn't let herself lose control again, keeping calm by reciting the human words in her mind. Her subconscious is working faster at interpreting the human tongue, and she understands.

"I...did...?" She questions, and looks around again, fear coming back. "I did...this?" She can't understand. Panic, she did all this? She couldn't of, not _that_ strong! Panic, _panic-_

"Shai, you need to just calm down, got it?" Kyo, the cat, he's in front of her. She looks up at him, he's looking down at her with an unflinching gaze. Her gaze hardens. Her normal self comes back. Pulling out of Yuki's grasp, she crosses her arms and defiantly stares back at him. A couple minutes pass, in which neither back down. Then Yuki gets involved.

"Perhaps you can stare each other down another time? Right now the cops _are _on their way. I have already made a note for them explaining what happened. We should leave." Kyo nods at Yuki's words, for once not arguing over being ordered around. Shai casts her gaze at Yuki, then turns and all but flees the room to get away from the destroyed room, courtesy of _her_.

"Come. We go now." She states, and hears their footsteps following her. "Thanks. Yuki and Kyo."


	4. A new Friend

**Apologies! I've actually been spending time away from tech, and before that I was hooked on a different series. I'm back now! And I am going to attempt to finish this story!**

**Thanks to Princess Hephzi of Arendale, who has stayed with the story thus far.**

**I do not own Fruits Basket or it's original characters. I only own Shai and the storyline.**

**Update: Not much updated. Must warn you all that my obsession with Fruits Basket is waning. So I'm really sorry if it looks like I'm not even trying anymore!**

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~~P.O.V. Shai Avel~~

It's all so confusing to her. Her mind just couldn't wrap around it. It's been a few hours since Yuki and Kyo had gotten her out of that situation. They had tried to explain it to her, and she'd understood, to a point. But she just couldn't understand why'd they'd go out into a forest, far from "civilization" As Yuki had put it, just to kidnap her.

It's twilight, and it was very beautiful to see the world as it is now from the roof of the Sohma house. Although today, her mind was preoccupied with the events that had happened. Her mind wouldn't leave it. Not even when someone had come onto the roof and sat down near her. It was a few minutes before she realized it and turned to look at them. There sat Tohru, looking at her with worry.

"Please, don't be mad with Sohma-kun and Kyo-kun. They didn't mean to do anything to upset you, so you should smile and show them your not upset." She smiles that same, goofy smile -as Kyo once put it- and waits for her reply. Shai was a bit confused at that. Did everyone think she was mad? Of course she wasn't, all she wanted was to think things over is all. Turning away from Tohru, she gets up.

"Not mad. Just thinking." Shai spares a glance at Tohru, then looks forwards and goes to the edge of the roof. She drops down and grabs the edge, then drops herself down onto the second level and walks into her room. But she didn't want to stay. As much as she liked the soft bed and three warm meals a day, she missed living in the wilds, sleeping in trees and hunting for food. She didn't know how much more she can take away from it. She was homesick.

In fact, she doubted she could last another second in this house, acting like a trapped prisoner. She turns to the window and starts for it when the door opens

"Oh Shai~! Are you all ready for your first day of school~?" Shigure, of course, she'd recognize that voice even if she were deaf. She turns back around to face him, then points to the bag in the corner of her room and nods.

"Yes." She states simply, and he feigns sadness.

"Oh Shai~! You speak so mean to me." She just rolls her eyes, not quite understanding everything, but understanding his tone.

"Shigure, leave Miss. Avel alone." comes Yuki's voice, and then him. He steps into the room and shoo's Shigure away. It takes a few minutes, but he finally leaves, fake crying to them about how mean Yuki is to just shoo him off like that. Yuki just sighs when he leaves and closes the door before turning to her. "I swear Shigure doesn't know when to stop." A small smile graces his lips then. _"How are you feeling?" _She starts a bit at the use of her native tongue; normally Yuki'd just speak human in order to get her more used to it; but just smiles back and nods in confirmation.

_"I'm alright, a bit confused still but nothing new."_ Is her simple reply. He nods in return and turns to leave.

_"Good. Now you should get some rest, we must go to school in the morning." _Is the last thing he says before closing her door. With a sigh, Shai goes to the bed that sits in the corner of her room and plops down. Simply staring at the ceiling, she dozes off into a restful, peaceful slumber, upset a bit that she didn't leave when she had the chance.

~~~~~Time skip yay!~~~~~

School, it's huge! There's so many humans and the building is so big! If Yuki hadn't had pulled a few strings she'd be lost in five minutes.

Shai follows after Yuki, staying behind him and looking all around the halls and at the classrooms, making a map in her head so she wouldn't get lost in the future. She didn't notice that Yuki and she had gotten separated until she bumped into a girl, landing on her bottom with a small grunt. Immediately she shoots to her feet and looks at who she'd walked into, to see a girl picking herself up off the ground and dusting off her own rear.

"Watch where you're going." She states, then looks up at Shai. "Oh, hey! You're the new girl!" She smiles wide and holds a hand out to her, to which Shai takes. "I'm Hephzi. Perhaps we can be friends?" Shai blinks, then nods.

"Sure..I'm Shai." She replies, smiling a little to Hephzi, who grins.

"Where you going?" She tilts her head, then pulls out a piece of paper from the pocket of her uniform, having managed to get the males uniform instead of the girls to her relief. Skirts would not have been a welcome thing to her. She studies the paper, her schedule Yuki had said it was, when she takes the paper and looks for herself. "Ah cool, we get the same classes! Just follow me Shai." With that said, she takes Shai's hand and leads her to their first class.

This girl is a bit forward and overly friendly.

The second they walk in Yuki is at her side. "Shai, I'm sorry. I did not mean to let you get lost." She smiles a bit and shrugs.

"It's okay. I'm here now." She states simply.

"Prince Yuki! Oh wow I didn't know you knew him!" Hephzi pipes in.

"Might I ask why you are with Miss. Shai?" He asks, bringing Hephzi back down to Earth.

"Oh! I was just bringing my new friend Shai to our class." Both nod and Shai looks up at Yuki.

"I see. I am glad you made a friend on your first day Shai. Perhaps-" Yuki was saying, until the bell rings, stopping him mid-sentence. The teacher steps into the room and all the kids in the room go to their seats. Shai finds herself next to Yuki, Hephzi on her other side. She's grateful to have both right next to her or she'd be completely lost.

When the teacher starts talking, she's immediately grateful that Yuki had told the school that he was a translator for her, or she'd fail without even trying.

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**Sorry this chapter is short! I just finished it up and just couldn't think of anything else! And thanks again to Princess Hephzi of Arendale!**

**Till next chapter! Which will hopefully be longer!**


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